Because of this reissue, I decided to revisit the EP and jog down the memory lane.
September 2010 still oddly feels like it was yesterday. Witch house summer was in full bloom, dragged remixes and edits were flooding every corner of Soundcloud, cryptic new faces were popping up on lastfm and witch-house.com forum, Mater Suspiria Vision was breaking download speed records with their limited Zombie Rave mixtapes, and Disaro finally announced pre-orders for the debut EP from Ritualz.
Back then, almost exclusively referred to as †‡†, Ritualz had already made a name for himself a few months earlier, taking the scene by storm with his singles "gOth bb" and a remix of HEALTH's USA Boys, charmingly entitled ">>>>▲<<<<". So when the EP was finally announced, I immediately went to my local bank to exchange UK pounds for US dollars, and mailed an envelope stuffed with cash to an address in Houston, TX. Not many people may know this now, but this old school mailorder method was the only way one could buy anything from Robert Disaro's cult label. One month later, my most anticipated witch house debut CDR, hand-numbered 23/100, finally arrived.
Consisting of 7 tracks (the vinyl remaster also includes "Initiation", which was a digital-only bonus cut), this possessed mash-up of goth and industrial beats, trance infused synths and meticulously selected eerie vocal samples had everything I was (and was not) expecting. Ritualz' style was unique, fresh and one-of-a-kind at the time, almost instantly earning him dozens of copycats.
Opening the EP with "Misery Walk", a heavy, slow-rolling and otherworldly dirge, Ritualz doesn't mess around from the start, mixing unintelligible, chopped-up vocals with pulsating drums and distorted bass, all intertwined with bold samples from the documentary Jesus Camp. The track ends as suddenly as it starts, cutting to his breakthrough single "gOth bb" - a menacing, throbbing anthem that amps up the listening experience and takes it to another level. Sinister synths paired with pounding beats and claps lead the unaware listener to a musical satanic orgy, that fully reveals itself when a possessed vocal sample drops at 1:20 mark, unfolding the true darkness and boldness of this song. "Psychic Teens" kicks off with a melodic synth line that gradually builds up to a fully blown up composition with rhythmic drums that serve as a backdrop for recordings of teenagers’ confessions from the paranormal TV show Psychic Kids. The following track "Kvltstep" has been my personal favourite since the EP release date, and can be defined as doomsday music for the end of times. Its spellbinding melody gradually morphs into possibly the most uplifting composition on the release, before the intense, saw synth-heavy collaboration with Unison kicks in. French witch-gazers grace "San Marino" with ethereal vocals and add a dose of gloomy atmosphere to Ritualz’ noisy hip-hop beats. "Russia Ukraine" is a short, 30 second interlude that I assume was a work in progress at some point, but never evolved into a proper song. It still gives us a glimpse into Ritualz’ mindset and inspirations at the time, and serves as an almost cinematic break before the final remix arrives. The closing track "gOth bb (Ritual Version)" is a drum-based edit of the main single, with densely planted beats turning it into a ghoulish and claustrophobic sonic elegy. I wouldn’t be surprised if this version was inspired by the work of Mater Suspiria Vision, with whom Ritualz collaborated a lot in those early years. As mentioned before, the vinyl remaster also includes a bonus track "Initiation", which has been a fan-favourite ever since Ritualz first posted it on his Soundcloud. If anyone wants to rescore the blood rave scene from Blade, look no further, true witch house classic.
The untitled EP, or CDR as it is also called, rightfully sits at the top of countless lists of best witch house releases ever made. It is a landmark in the history of the scene, and is still as relevant today as it was over 10 years ago.
Do yourself a favour and get the vinyl before it sells out.